Weight loss

[Honora]

Hi all,

So I noticed that one of my hens has lost quite a bit of weight. She is eating and drinking normally, behaving normally in every way, just is a lot thinner than previously. Could this be some sort of illness, or is she not getting the right nutrition? I did change their food recently, but it is just a different kind of layer pellets, and my other hen seems to be doing fine with her weight.

Should I be concerned about this?

 

[KayTee]

I had the same problem when I changed brands of pellets. One of my girls just didn't like the new ones, which were a bit harder and less crumbly than the old ones. I realised that although she went to the bowl regularly she wasn't eating much of what was in there. By the time I realised, she had lost a bit of weight. I had some chick crumbs left over so I mixed a bit of oyster shell in for calcium and fed her with that until I could get some of the old brand pellets. It helped bring her weight back up. To use up the new pellets I added one handful to each large bowl of old pellets. It took a while but eventually I used them all. No waste and even my fussy eater accepted them mixed in with her favourite brand. I stick to the same brand all the time now!

 

[Honora]

That makes sense because I noticed that she did not seem to like the new food as much. I'll try and figure out where to get the old kind of food, thanks!